Fire Emblem Echoes provoked a multitude of emotions from me, not all of them positive. It's different than anything else in the series, and shows what happens when a developer feels like veering away from the established path. It's to the game's credit that I found it quite addictive and sank a lot of hours into it, plus much of what takes place is genuinely interesting. Yet some of the nasty tricks it pulls in the last battles were just infuriating. A somewhat mixed bag, but absolutely worth investigating by series stalwarts.

Vikings: Wolves of Midgard manages to provide some fun for those who know what they're getting into. Simple yet serviceable combat and a competent graphical presentation make for a game that is as easy to handle as it is to look at. Its multitude of extraneous features, however, fail to add much engaging and compelling to the mix; resource management and town-building, multiple skill trees, repeatable hunt maps, and a rage combat ability can all safely be ignored. Though it has a lengthy campaign and relatively low challenge, it never really manages to rise past the basic thrill of its combat, and will disappoint those looking for a deep, satisfying story or anything beyond the hack-and-slash loot-a-thon it is.

Despite a great localization and plenty of solid aspects, Akiba's Beat's strengths never manage to overshadow its glaring problems. Its copy-paste combat system, constant revisiting of dungeons, and other minor problems all add up to a bland and occasionally irritating experience.

While I have spent most of this review ragging on Harvest Moon: Skytree Village's issues, I am glad I played the game because it satisfied my curiosity in regards to how Harvest Moon has changed in the last five years. While there are inklings of interesting ideas, the overall package feels hollow, as though it's missing a spark of greatness where other games have succeeded. Skytree Village doesn't offer enough incentive to keep players actively engaged, and I can only hope that the next iteration of the series makes some drastic changes to get this series back on track.

What Tides of Numenera offers is a rich experience in learning lore and then making a final multiple guess at the ending, all the while never being fully satisfying in terms of presentation. There's more playability to this take on this game, but it might be better off being used for a title that has far less baggage.

So, in the final analysis, we have a game that works hard to be more than the sum of its parts, which is especially important when one of those parts isn't up to par with the industry of today. The result is a package that would have wowed audiences twenty-five years ago, and which holds up decently (but not spectacularly) today. Since Zeboyd Games has shown itself capable of learning and growing from every experience in game design, its next game will hopefully be twice the level of awesome.

While I loved Dragon Quest Heroes back in 2015, Dragon Quest Heroes II is a very safe sequel that doesn't add much to a stale formula. While this is a good sequel, it definitely has its moments where it could have ended much earlier than it did. Musou and Dragon Quest enthusiasts, of which I am both, will be easily sold on this game. Still, part of me feels that if this game had been a tad shorter and more cohesive, I would have loved it as much as the first.

Sadly, The Caligula Effect really just amounts to a waste of time. It's a shame because there's some neat ideas within it, particularly on the premise and story side of things, that are stuck behind terrible design choices and poor implementation. Despite its short length — approaching twenty hours depending on how well players can avoid the mindless drones — there's no reason to abandon other plans to give it a try.

Shiness teases us with an adventure that is pure fun. The developers bring back much of the style from the early 90s games that inspired them, while successfully infusing the game with modern gameplay elements and mechanics. The world is engaging and the story presentation is great, complimented by a competent soundtrack, vivid visuals, and stylish manga-like cutscenes. The ideas behind the battle system are carefully architected and work wonderfully together to offer variety of play, action, and battle planning. Unfortunately the game seems to be a case where the realities of the world caught up with the developers' fantasy too soon. As a result, it fails to follow through on both its story and the promises of its combat system, and is marred by a lack of technical polish and bugs, leaving players with a distinctly average experience.

I wanted to give Arelite Core a chance, and found little things to admire even while the package as a whole was a disappointment. It's pretty hard to forgive a game in which beating the final boss is greeted by an immediate unknown error that crashes the whole shebang though. I'm hopeful Dragon Slumber will be able to move on to better things in the future, because this isn't a very good advertisement of whatever talents it possesses.

Trails in the Sky the 3rd is bound to be a very divisive game among Trails fans. Its radically different structure is such a departure from the prior games that it's inevitably going to turn off some players, but at the same time, the fantastic boss battles and charming moments still manage to keep you hooked through what would, in any other circumstance, be a rather monotonous dungeon crawler. Had it not been for the two prior games of history, I doubt it would be able to hold up as well as it does; indeed, if you haven't played the previous titles, Trails in the Sky the 3rd would be a confusing mess. If, however, like so many Trails fans, you've fallen in love with the cast and want one last adventure with them, Trails in the Sky the 3rd does an admirable job of providing just that.

Touhou Double Focus is a Touhou Metroidvania. It's honestly hard to describe it any better than that. If that doesn't sound like something you absolutely must buy, then you probably shouldn't. If either of those words provokes a strange compulsion in you though, it's a charming game that's enjoyable to play for its incredibly brief duration.

It doesn't pass muster as one of the 3DS's better offerings, but neither did I experience great hatred for Dragon Sinker while playing it. It offers enough engagement to not fade from the mind swiftly, without justifying someone's immediate and unswerving attention due to the plethora of superior options out there. Saying it's better than most items published by Kemco may not be great praise, but it's accurate.

If even just a few more features had been implemented into Legna Tactica, I would find myself singing a different song at the end of this review. It is by no means a poor effort, but the main element RPGamers will expect from a TRPG — the tactics promised in the actual title — just never feel very engaging. By the time the scope of battles offers an enjoyable challenge, the game is already nearing its end and fatigue is setting in; it's too little, too late. Narrative, graphics, and music all clock in somewhere around average, with some facets, like the soundtrack, having a slight edge over others. As budget titles go, players can do much worse. Legna Tactica may satisfy some bite-size appetites, but don't expect it to scratch any Final Fantasy Tactics-sized itches.

With Persona 5, Atlus has once again proven that it is the master of the modern JRPG. With terrific style, addictive gameplay, and an engaging, thought-provoking story, Persona 5 not only matches, but often exceeds its predecessors, one of which RPGamer even declared its RPG of the Decade back in 2010. It is an exceptionally long game, with most players likely to expect over one hundred hours for a single playthrough, but the investment is well worth it. Persona 5 is a remarkable game that shouldn't be missed.

Breath of the Wild is a stunning achievement in terms of gameplay, technical detail, and world building, making the overall experience just fantastic. The Zelda series is certainly no stranger to quality, producing high quality titles since the days of Link to the Past. Never, though, has there been a Zelda quite like this. The openness of its structure brings a breadth of adventure that the series hasn't seen in a long time. It is not only a fantastic game in its own right, but provides a base for the series to build on for years to come. This instance of Hyrule is a joy to explore, and no fan of adventures, or games in general, should miss out on this title.

Tyranny, is fun little throwback to an older style of game. It does it well and it does it without having to cash in on a particular brand or nostalgic sentiment. It presents a brand new world in a compelling and understandable way. It showcases a much more nuanced take on being the bad guy than games tend to do. I found myself reminded more of Unrest than Baldur's Gate while playing this game and that is a good thing.

While there's tons of new, little things to enjoy in Story of Seasons: Trio of Towns, I wish more had been done to innovate the series. We've seen newer games go onto the market that offer so much more, and it feels like Story of Seasons does need to catch up. While this is a great instalment with tons to offer the player, there is a part of me that wanted to see this series grow and change. Trio of Towns is a solid entry into this long running franchise, but this series needs to get with the times and stop playing it safe.

Opinions of Mass Effect: Andromeda will differ greatly based on expectations. The game still provides many hours of enjoyment and lots of the good things that fans have come to expect, but those hoping the series uses this opportunity to take another giant leap may find themselves brought back to Earth with a bump. For everything the development team has done right, there is a little misstep that holds it back, particularly when building the overall story. It's still a highly enjoyable game, but not as stellar as many might have hoped.

Overall, Touhou Genso Wanderer is a solid game with no interest in appealing to anyone beyond its niche audience. Devoted fans of Touhou will enjoy seeing some lesser-used characters in action, while fans of roguelikes can easily ignore the story and focus on the challenge of the gameplay. But if you're neither one of those things, it's probably not worth the full price.

Reverie Under the Moonlight is a highly polished Metroidvania with wonderful aesthetics, and introduces a number of interesting gameplay and combat mechanics. The non-linear exploration, progressive unlocking of new areas, and backtracking are generally enjoyable, and what lore and story exist are competent. Unfortunately, the developers don't make good use of its great combat mechanics due to poor encounter design and an excessive number of easily missable combat abilities. In addition, rewards for exploration tend to be bland and the short length leaves the world and story underdeveloped. The short and sweet Metroidvania experience Reverie Under the Moonlight offers is definitely worthwhile and will satisfy fans of the genre, but the aforementioned design shortcomings keep it from standing out from the pack.

I had high hopes for a lot of the new ideas being introduced, but sadly Atelier Firis breaks my heart in a lot of ways. As someone who loves to get lost in big open worlds, I struggled to enjoy this installment with the same intensity that I've had for the Atelier series over the years. Firis feels like a larger step backwards than Sophie did, and I can only hope that the third game in the Mysterious subseries will fix the blemishes, because there are some great ideas here that just needed smarter execution and more polish.

Ys Origin is a great gateway into the Ys series, as well as another high-quality entry for those who are already sold on the series. Its streamlined approach offers a perfect combination of being able to showcase what Ys is all about without demanding too much of time commitment. Those looking for an engaging experience of combat and exploration should check it out.

NieR: Automata is an odd case where the game feels worse than the sum of its parts. Each individual element is high quality on its own, but there are enough flaws to bring down the overall experience. The story goes in very interesting directions but fails to land the ending, and the combat has a lot of depth but fails to encourage the player to explore it, which combine to make the whole thing feel just a bit hollower than it should be. Anyone who liked NieR or Drakengard will love this game just for how it presents itself and the ideas it explores, but fans of action games or slightly thoughtful sci-fi stories will find a lot to appreciate too.

For its rookie outing, Nioh shows a lot of promise and delivers on quite a bit of it. Its combat is unmatched and will carry it further than some of the more nitpicky complaints can bring it down. It's a fun game to learn, offering great incentives to explore and pore over its many intricacies. It may end up being a bit too long for its own good, but others may find this offers the replayability necessary to get that next piece of an armor set. If this is to be the foundation for a new series, which it absolutely should be, then the hard work is over and an interesting world just needs to be built around it. If it is to stand alone, then it at least does so with one of the finest combat systems ever created.

With all the Arland and Dusk games re-released on PlayStation Vita, I am happy to have completed this journey all over again. Replaying the Dusk series in particular reminded me why I enjoy this series so much, and Atelier Shallie has a lot of wonderful qualities, even if it isn't the wrap up to the subseries that it needed to be. I still maintain that if you are a newcomer, the Dusk subseries is a great way to start, as the learning curve isn't as high as the Arland games. Atelier Shallie isn't the perfect conclusion, but it offers so much heart and a grand adventure that it's almost forgivable.

Horizon Zero Dawn is as close to a flawless RPG as one could hope for; developer Guerilla Games went for the gold in every respect, and it shows. The game boasts immense production values in its gorgeous art direction, and is stuffed to the gills with great voiceover performances, atmospheric and tuneful music, and visceral sound effects work. Even more importantly, it provides a top-notch story that delights in plunging the unsuspecting player headfirst down a rabbit hole of epic proportions, far and away its strongest achievement.

Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers is a lot friendlier to players than many tactical RPGs, though some would argue too much so, and it's impressive how well it manages to evoke its parent series' formula of powerful warriors sweeping through opposing forces. The campaign doesn't take too long to get through and is balanced both in difficulty and experience awarding so that players won't have to spend ages getting their roster up to speed. Hardcore tactical fans will likely want more challenge than the game seems to provide, but for those looking for a lighter tactical experience, Dynasty Warriors: Godseekers fits the bill nicely.